The old Wembley Stadium, with the Towers, was like a second home to me during the late 80s and early 90s. Growing up in Grahame Park Estate, Colindale, a few miles away from the iconic ‘home’ of English football I spent many an evening at the stadium with my dad and family watching Greyhound Racing and that generally meant it was a playground of sorts. I’d ramble about over the seats, watch the races from the easily accessible ‘Royal Box’ and run around the ‘Great Hall’ playing football with countless discarded losing betting tickets.
My first time seeing the Republic of Ireland play ‘live” was the 1985 visit to Wembley where a certain Gary Lineker scored his first goal for England in a 2-1 win. As a football obsessed lad growing up in London I grasped every opportunity to go to games when taken and that meant watching England and Man Utd (when they got to Wembley which was more frequent from 1990 onwards).
Looking back at the match programmes I always bought and collected, I realise I was lucky enough to see some of the most famous names in World Football up close when countries travelled to take on England. I went to a lot of England games in the lead up to the 1990 World Cup seeing Gazza cement his place in their squad who would soon be taking on Jack Charlton Ireland on the greatest stage of them all in Italy. My memories of Italia 90 are for another day.
November 1990, the game at Lansdowne, had seen me taken out of school early to be able to catch the game on TV due to us not having floodlights. So to Wembley in March 91. On the back of the 1990 World Cup I remember the scramble for tickets.
The English FA in their wisdom advertised tickets in the back pages of the tabloids and you could apply and purchase with an English address. So many Irish fans based in England took advantage of this as did my mum, for family members who wanted to go. Tickets secured, off we went to Wembley. We went by coach from a local pub (a journey of 5 miles and parked up in the coach park outside the stadium)
I had naively thought nothing of wearing an Ireland scarf to the game although we were in England end seats high up (above the Olympic Gallery) behind the tunnel end. There was a mix of Irish fans all around us.
I was 11, not yet started secondary school, just enthralled by seeing live football, especially those players I had seen on TV at the World Cup the previous summer. I’d been to matches before at Wembley including the 1990 FA Cup Final and replay so thought I knew what to expect; how wrong I was.
Sitting in Wembley the atmosphere straight away was full of vitriol, chants of “No Surrender” and relentless booing met the Irish team. I was with a school friend and other family members and remember being distracted by the singing and bile from England fans all around and feeling threatened and frightened. A few old Irish lads in front of us turned to offer reassurance and said to ignore it and watch the game but having never been witness to anything like it that was easier said than done.
The football…. I remember Lee Dixons goal and then Niall Quinn’s equaliser and feeling grateful that neither side had lost when the game was brought to a close.
As we made our way down the piss covered staircase of the old Wembley and back to our coach I was now savvy enough to tuck away my Ireland scarf. I remember lying low on the coach as a few skirmishes occurred between fans and coach windows were smashed nearby….ours being an “England” coach was unscathed.
Looking back now 34 years on, I realise the impact of the political landscape at the time. The Birmingham 6 had just been released so emotions were high and football wise England, under a new manager in Graham Taylor were expected to put Ireland in their place.
In fact this was one of Ireland’s best performances under Big Jack, we could have won and had chances to do so especially late on when Ray Houghton, scorer of that iconic goal in 88 for the Boys in Green, missed a great chance to score.
